@therealsaigon #Charity
If you’re up in the Northeast you’re probably chilling at home or endured a pretty rough commute this morning trying to get to work through double-digit inches of snowfall.  Its been a very rough winter for the Eastern part of the nation with total snowfalls in New York approaching 60 total inches leaving snow piles on sidewalks since last year and in parts like Atlanta where snowfall is rare the city was paralyzed for a week as authorities were unable to deal with the record snow and ice storms.  With all that we’ve endured its almost unfathomable to think of how hard its been on the homeless.

I know I have had a history of being very critical of the current state of Hip Hop but over the past few months I have made a concerted effort to not only shed light on the game’s ills but also highlight the good things Hip Hop is doing as well.  For example, New York City rapper, Saigon recently teamed up with The Bowery Misson Homeless Shelter in New York City to give back by offering his time to help.  Along with a few of his boys, he helped distribute blankets to those less fortunate to assist in withstanding the harsh winter temperatures and snow.

“Me and some friends of mine, the Ahuja’s that own a garment manufacturing company, took to the very cold streets of NYC over these past couple of nights to hand out warm blankets to help the homeless stay warm,” Saigon said of his participation. “We covered Port Authority, Penn Station and the Bowery Mission Homeless Shelter, handing out over a hundred blankets. I did it because I had a little down time after finishing up my album and my friends, the Aluhja’s, had some extra blankets, so we decided to go hand them out to the homeless.

“If we can prevent one person from freezing to death out there on the streets, that makes everything worth it,” the rapper continued. “I wish more hip-hop artists would step up and help give something back to their communities. If everyone used the power they have to lend a helping hand, hopefully it would inspire others to do the same.”

That’s good ish.  In most instances I would prefer to see acts of kindness such as these to just happen without the pub but the fact remains they don’t happen every day so we have to bring them to the forefront in effort to encourage others that its cool to help others.  Hip Hop isn’t all bad but we all have to hold each other accountable.  Stuntin is cool but trust me, helping a brotha out is much more rewarding.  There are many great organizations like the Bowery Mission (Bowery.org).  Do a quick Google search for them in your hometown and lets make a difference.  Salute Saigon.